Harrisburg

Harrisburg’s current Capitol exists because the last one burned. The old building was destroyed by fire on February 2, 1897, and the legislature ordered a fireproof replacement of brick, stone and iron, eventually handing the design to Joseph Huston, who was young and little known. It was dedicated on October 4, 1906, with Theodore Roosevelt as keynote speaker and about 50,000 people attending.

Then people read the bills. The building had cost $4.5 million, and its furnishings cost twice that again. State Treasurer William Berry exposed the overcharging, the governor ordered an investigation, and Explore PA History records that Huston, the construction superintendent, a state treasurer, an auditor and contractor John Sanderson all went to jail. Among Sanderson’s bills: paneling worth $1,800 charged at $15,000, and $60 sofas charged at $550.

Building the complex around it had a different cost. The Old Eighth Ward, home to many Black and immigrant families, was demolished as the state government expanded into what is now the Capitol Complex, and WITF reports that thousands of homes and hundreds of Black-owned businesses went in the demolitions of the Eighth and later the Seventh Ward. A monument now marks the place at 4th and Walnut.

Downriver, Three Mile Island is the other name most people connect with this area. A partial meltdown closed Unit 2 in March 1979, and WITF notes it released only low levels of radiation. Unit 1 ran for decades after that, then shut down, and is now being prepared to restart.

The Pennsylvania State Capitol is a building whose furnishings set off a corruption scandal and whose art a state committee now spends years conserving. Its dome is a one-third-scale version of St. Peter’s Basilica, its grand staircase takes its design from the Paris Opera House, and its green roof is glazed terra-cotta over red clay. The figure on top, often wrongly called Ms. Penn, is officially Commonwealth, and the lines in glass mosaic circling the rotunda are several separate William Penn quotations run together as if they were one.

*Fees subject to change, please check nationalcivilwarmuseum.org for updated information.

Matangos Candies at 1501 Catherine Street is a house on Allison Hill where Christoforos Matangos started making candy in 1947. Harrisburg Magazine says his grandson now runs it alone, downstairs on the same equipment and marble table. We were unable to confirm a website of its own or current hours; the state food-safety register lists the facility, so a phone call before driving over is the safe course.

Broad Street Market is open Wednesday through Saturday, with select vendors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and many staying later, all in its Stone Building for now. A fire in July 2023 badly damaged the brick market house, and in 2026 the city gave July 2027 as its goal for reopening it.

6 breweries within 10 miles of Harrisburg, 5 of them brewpubs with a kitchen.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

*Fees subject to change, please check indianechocaverns.com for updated information.

24 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Harrisburg in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• FrederickMarylandabout 65 mi
• BaltimoreMarylandabout 70 mi
• Harpers FerryWest Virginiaabout 80 mi
• WilmingtonDelawareabout 80 mi
• AnnapolisMarylandabout 90 mi
• Independence HallPennsylvaniaabout 95 mi
• National Air and Space MuseumDistrict of Columbiaabout 95 mi
• PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaabout 95 mi
• Washington, D.C.District of Columbiaabout 95 mi
• Washington, D.C. — U.S. CapitolDistrict of Columbiaabout 95 mi
• DoverDelawareabout 110 mi
• TrentonNew Jerseyabout 110 mi
• Cape MayNew Jerseyabout 140 mi
• LewesDelawareabout 140 mi
• Rehoboth BeachDelawareabout 140 mi
• Shenandoah CountryVirginiaabout 140 mi
• Atlantic CityNew Jerseyabout 150 mi
• New York CityNew Yorkabout 150 mi
• NewarkNew Jerseyabout 150 mi
• Statue of Liberty National MonumentNew Yorkabout 150 mi
• Museum of Modern Art — MoMANew Yorkabout 160 mi
• Ocean CityMarylandabout 160 mi
• PittsburghPennsylvaniaabout 160 mi
• MorgantownWest Virginiaabout 170 mi

• Haines Shoe HouseOdd building / architectureHellamabout 23 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Free

  When you can see it

  Any time — outdoors, visible from the road

  Nearest road

  US-30 (Lincoln Highway)

  1949 five-story shoe-shaped house; exterior from road, overnight stays bookable

  Read on the page we checked

• Mister Ed's Elephant Museum & Candy EmporiumQuirky museumOrrtannaabout 39 miles away

  Cost to see it

  We did not find a price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  US-30 west of Gettysburg

  Roughly 12,000 elephant figurines plus homemade fudge

  Read on the page we checked

• Red Caboose MotelRoadside attraction / tourist stopRonksabout 44 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  US-30 / PA-741

  Sleep in one of 38 converted cabooses in Amish country

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

Budget half a day for the Capitol, the monument and Midtown, and a second half day for City Island or the Civil War museum. Gettysburg and Hershey each take a day of their own.

Weekdays give more Capitol. The building is open for tours on the half hour on weekdays, against four tours on weekends, and the state says hours may change during legislative sessions.

January brings the Farm Show. The 2027 show fills the Farm Show Complex and Expo Center from January 9 to 16, with competitive agricultural events and a food court alongside the butter.

Season: the National Weather Service’s October 2026 summary for Harrisburg lists a normal October high of 65.7°F; that month averaged 69.2°F.

Pennsylvania State Capitol

Address

501 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, PA (main entrance only on weekends and holidays; East Wing accessible entrance Monday–Friday)

Tours

Free. Weekdays every half hour 8:30 a.m.–3:50 p.m.; weekends and most holidays 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.

Reservations

Walk-ins by availability; online booking up to 2 hours ahead; 40 people per tour; closed for tours November 3, 2026

Self-guided

Weekdays only. On weekends and holidays only the main Rotunda is open without a guide

Phone

1-800-868-7672

Link

pacapitol.com

We checked opening hours, reservations, operating status, closures, seasonal opening and fees on 2026-11-01. These change without notice — confirm with pacapitol.com, pa.gov, broadstreetmarket.org, nps.gov, rrmuseumpa.org, chocolateworld.com, pafoodsafety.pa.gov, constellationenergy.com, abc27.com, forecast.weather.gov, nationalcivilwarmuseum.org and indianechocaverns.com the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Harrisburg, not drive time.

• Harrisburg International (MDT) — 9 miles
• Lancaster (LNS) — 33 miles
• Reading Regional Airport (Carl A Spaatz Field) (RDG) — 49 miles